It’s a Fair Day . . .

Take Us Out to the County Fair !

Grenville and I are city folk. There were no rolling farmlands where we grew up there and sadly the wind did not come whistling down the plain like in Oklahoma.  Now we live in what’s mainly an agricultural area,  so a 4H County Fair is a BIG (and fun)  event.
Saturday we day tripped to the Worcester Country 4H Fair held in Byrd Park, Snow Hill, MD, as they say here “jus a way down the road”.  Translated that means it was about an hour drive each way. 

Curiosity about 4H led to some online research. The 4H tradition dates to the turn of the 20th century. In response to the industrial revolution, rural communities sought to get young people interested in agricultural vocations. The birth of 4H clubs is credited to an Ohio HS principal, A.B. Graham who, in 1902, set up local “out of school” youth clubs to meet this need. These clubs had a formal structure with meetings, elected officers, projects, and record keeping.  By 1914, nearly every state had 4-H clubs with similar reporting practices.
The group had also adopted its 4-leaf clover emblem with an H on each leaf: head, heart, hands, health. The 4-H official emblem is green with white H’s. White symbolizes purity; green stands for nature's most common color and symbolizes youth, life, and growth.

   

It’s not just all about farm animals at a county fair, but also about veggies – growing and preserving. Here are a couple of winners.
 
And there’s also FOOD to eat , like ribbon  ribbon fries, barbecue pulled pork sandwich, nachos, hamburgers, fries AND Grenville’s absolute (positively) favorite – funnel cake.

   
 We watched some unusual craftsmanship – chain saw carving:

Tools of the trade . . .

There were TRACTORS in 2 colors – yellow and green.
 
Are there ANY other colors? (red and orange don’t count in these parts).

   
Lots more to see –CARS, some old and some not – photos in a future post. For now, here’s some good words – the 4H pledge:

“I pledge my Head to clearer thinking,

my Heart to greater loyalty,

my Hands to larger service,

and my Health to better living,

for my club, my community, my country, and my world.”